Chris Taylor

Chris Taylor has worn several hats in her professional career: attorney, legal studies program director & professor, grant writer, and author. After graduating from law school, Taylor worked as the chief attorney at the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission and as a private practitioner in her native state of Oklahoma. Upon moving to Tennessee, she taught classes at the Memphis State University Humphreys College of Law, while also working as an attorney for Memphis Area Legal Services where she represented low-income clients. From there, she became a director for the Tennessee Department of Employment Security in Nashville before accepting a position to head the Paralegal Studies Program at Volunteer State Community College. A move to Arizona found Taylor developing her grant writing skills to support K-12 teacher in funding projects including putting more books into classrooms and organizing book fairs & read-a-thons. In addition, she worked for the University of Phoenix as a senior enrollment counselor. Taylor wished to again work directly with students, so she accepted a position with Southern Utah University as its Legal Studies Director and prelaw advisor. In Utah, Taylor taught several law-related courses, developed curriculum, created & advised the student legal studies club, as well as developed activities for students who wanted to attend law school.

Throughout her law-related career, Taylor continued her long-loved interest in writing. She wrote legal documents and materials. When working for Legal Services, Taylor wrote a handbook to assist her clients in better understanding their rights. Her grant writing experience led her to be asked to write a related book which led to the publication of Granted! a teacher’s guide to writing and winning classroom grants. Her college and university teaching led to her writing the e-textbook Introduction to Law used in her course of the same name.

Taylor is also an author of fiction that began with writing poetry published through a state arts commission and now includes short story and creative nonfiction publications in the Kolob Canyon Review. Inasmuch as there are several other “Chris Taylor” authors, she now writes fiction under the pen name PortiaLily Taylor. Her law-related work may be found in LawOwlGuides.com while PortiaLilyTaylor.com relates to her blog and fiction offerings.

Taylor has been recognized for her legal work, her efforts in support of students, and her volunteerism. She now lives in Arizona with her husband and two dogs where she loves to look out her window at the desert flora while she continues to write.